Massachusetts was key to U.S. effort in WWI

One-hundred years ago, thousands of Massachusetts National Guardsmen landed in France, an ocean away from their homes and loved ones.

Gerry Tuoti Wicked Local Newsbank Editor

One-hundred years ago, thousands of Massachusetts National Guardsmen landed in France, an ocean away from their homes and loved ones.

They would soon face brutal fighting conditions and horrific new weapons of war, serving with valor and proving themselves a vital cog in the U.S. war effort.

The 26th Infantry, nicknamed the Yankee Division, was the first full U.S. unit to deploy overseas after the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917. The unit was nearly entirely composed of guardsmen from Massachusetts and the the other New England states.

“It was the Guard’s finest hour,” said Brigadier Gen. Leonid Kondratiuk, chairman of the Massachusetts World War I Centennial Commission and official historian for the Massachusetts National Guard. “They were available, organized quickly and went over there quickly.”

The war was nearly three years old when the United States joined its French and British allies, and the conflict was mired in a bloody stalemate. Locked in trench warfare across much of Western Europe, opposing forces suffered huge casualties for minimal territorial gains.

In declaring war on Germany, the United States cited German submarine attacks on merchant and passenger ships in the North Atlantic as well as an intercepted telegram from the German foreign minister to Germany’s ambassador in Mexico City. Known as the Zimmerman Telegram, the message outlined a secret German plan to help Mexico recover territory in the Southwestern United States in exchange for Mexican support in the war.

“With the declaration of war, the state mobilized the National Guard, some 14,000 men and they became the 26th Division, the Yankee Division,” Kondratiuk said.

U.S. entry into the war provided a significant boost to the Allies, both in troop numbers and morale.

After training for months under experienced French troops, the soldiers of the Yankee Division were sent in April 1918 to Apremont, a French town close to the fighting at nearby St. Mihiel.

The guardsmen would soon distinguish themselves for the first of many times, said Dan Leclerc, a Yankee Division researcher who teaches adult education courses on World War I at UMass Boston and Tufts University.

Facing U.S. troops for one of the first times, the German forces at Apremont hoped to deal a major blow, breaking the Americans’ spirits.

The 104th regiment of the Yankee Division repelled wave after wave of German attacks, holding their ground in one of the first major battles of the war involving American troops.

“They fought like hell, then basically did not yield their positions,” Leclerc said. “The Germans could not push them away. It was not a huge battle, but it was an early indicator where all of a sudden the Germans were realizing, ‘If Americans are all as tough as these guys, we’re going to have a problem.’”

The whole regiment went on to receive the rare distinction of being awarded the French Croix de Guerre medal.

The legacy of the Yankee Division continues to live on in many ways. Leclerc recalled a trip he made to visit the battlefields of Apremont in the late 1990s.

After seeing a group of old-timers chatting outside a small general store, Leclerc decided to approach and introduce himself.

When they found out where he was visiting from, the men became excited.

“Massachusetts? D’Holyoke?” they eagerly asked him.

They then led him to a square, Place d’Holyoke, where there was a granite monument saluting the soldiers of Holyoke for driving the German troops from the town in 1918. In the town, Leclerc would soon learn, there was a widespread misconception that the 104th regiment came entirely from Holyoke, Mass. In reality, the unit drew troops from across the state.

When they saw combat, troops in World War I were exposed to the latest military technology of the day. They faced new weapons such as tanks, airplanes, machine guns, heavy artillery and poison gas.

In July 1918, the Yankee Division distinguished itself again at the Battle of Belleau Wood, one of the final German offensives of the war.

“The Germans are just launching everything at the Yankee Division,” Kondratiuk said. “They’re in the heat of battle, dead lying over them, gas coming at them, heavy artillery over them, and they hold. The next day, the Yankee Division goes on the attack and pushes the Germans back nine miles, which is amazing.”

When Massachusetts troops joined other Army units, they were typically dispersed, mixing in with soldiers from all over the country.

Another notable Massachusetts unit in World War I was Company L of the National Guard’s 372nd Infantry Regiment, which was comprised entirely of black soldiers from Cambridge and Boston. The U.S. military at that time was segregated along racial lines.

The troops of Company L were broken up and drawn into other units, making it virtually impossible to track the group’s actions and contributions, Kondratiuk said.

“Because of the prejudice against black troops, the unit was broken up and fought under French command,” he said. “They were excellent troops and earned high honors.”

Additionally, all the major hospitals in Boston organized medical units that deployed to Europe in 1917. Kondratiuk estimates several hundred Massachusetts nurses served in the American Expeditionary Force. Another 1,000 Massachusetts natives likely joined the American Field Service Corps, running ambulance units for the French and British armies.

In total, more than 189,000 Massachusetts residents served in World War I, with 5,775 dying in service.

The soldiers of the Yankee Division were by no means the only Massachusetts troops in World War I, but because they remained together in a single National Guard unit, their actions are the easiest to track.

“The Yankee Division came from pre-existing National Guard units or militias, pulled from local communities,” Leclerc said. “That made it our division. That gave it an identity.”

Medal of Honor recipients from Massachusetts

Of the 119 World War I servicemen who were given the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award, four were from Massachusetts.

The text of their Medal of Honor citations, maintained and archived by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, describes their valorous acts.

Boston native Michael Perkins, who served in the Yankee Division, earned the citation for his actions at Belleau Wood. Using a grenade to blast his way into a fortified German machine gun emplacement, he drew his trench knife and rushed in, killing or wounding several German soldiers and capturing 25 as prisoners.

Born in Gloucester, trained dentist Alexander Gordon Lyle served in the Marines during World War I. Facing heavy shellfire in a battle in France, he rushed to the aid of a wounded Marine and administered life-saving surgical aid as the bombardment continued. He went on to attain the rank of vice admiral and retired from the service in 1948.

Enlisting in the Navy out of Springfield, John MacKenzie left the service in 1907, but re-enlisted when the United States entered World War I. Serving on the U.S.S. Remlik, MacKenzie found a depth charge adrift on the deck. To prevent the explosive from blowing up in the heavy winds, he risked his own life to secure it by sitting down on top of it until the weather calmed. He survived the incident and is credited with saving his crew.

Charles Whittlesey, who served in the Army’s 77th Division, joined the service in Pittsfield. During the Battle of Argonne, he commanded a squad of 46 men who were cut off from the rest of the unit for five days without any rations or supplies. Facing superior German numbers, his troops held their position and refused to surrender.